India and Canada announced a significant expansion of civil nuclear cooperation, including a long-term uranium supply agreement, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The pact, signed between Canadian nuclear firm Cameco and India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is valued at CAD 2.6 billion and is intended to support India’s civil nuclear programme and clean energy transition. The two sides also agreed to collaborate on developing small modular reactors (SMRs).
The deal comes 51 years after India’s 1974 Pokhran-I test, which used plutonium from Canada‑supplied CIRUS reactor fuel and led to a diplomatic rupture. The leaders framed the new agreement as a key pillar of a renewed India–Canada Strategic Partnership, emphasizing nuclear energy’s role in reliable, affordable, low‑carbon power and in meeting climate commitments.
During Carney’s visit to India from February 27 to March 2—the first bilateral trip by a Canadian prime minister since 2018—the two countries committed to deepen ties across clean energy, critical minerals, technology, defence and trade. They agreed to advance an India–Canada Strategic Energy Partnership covering liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, refined products and critical minerals needed for emerging technologies and energy transition.
Security cooperation was also upgraded. The leaders welcomed progress under the bilateral security dialogue at the National Security Adviser level and endorsed a work plan to strengthen collaboration on national security and law‑enforcement priorities. Both democracies committed to cooperating against violent extremism, terrorism and organised crime—including illicit narcotics and fentanyl precursors—as well as cybercrime, extortion, financial fraud, trafficking and transnational criminal networks. They supported creating dedicated security and law‑enforcement liaison mechanisms to streamline communication and timely information sharing, and agreed to enhance cooperation on cybersecurity and immigration enforcement consistent with domestic laws and international obligations. They also called for an early meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism.
On trade, the leaders launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and set a shared ambition to raise bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030. India welcomed Canada’s decision to pursue membership of the International Solar Alliance and its upgraded participation in the Global Biofuels Alliance, signaling closer alignment on global clean energy initiatives.
The two countries also agreed to boost cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, space technology and resilient supply chains, and to expand education partnerships and talent mobility programmes.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh welcomed the agreement while tracing its roots to earlier diplomatic efforts. He recalled Canada’s historical assistance to India in establishing heavy water reactors, such as at Kalpakkam, before cooperation was halted after India’s 1974 test. Ramesh noted that the 2008 Indo‑US Civil Nuclear Agreement, finalized under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, opened the door for renewed global civil nuclear cooperation with India.
The leaders described the package of nuclear, energy, security, trade and technological cooperation as a broad-based effort to deepen strategic ties and support mutual economic resilience and climate goals.
